My dearest uncle is in San Francisco only about 2 - 3 miles from there.
I have nagged him TWICE to leave.....and being the busybody that I am, called three of his children to inform them that he is STUBBORN...
Firefighters were still battling a deadly gas-fueled blaze Friday that engulfed dozens of homes and sent fireballs shooting into the air in this neighborhood near the San Francisco airport, emergency management officials said.
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At least one person died in the fire, Kelly Huston of California Emergency Management said.

Local hospitals reported Thursday night that at least 28 people were being treated for injuries from the fire, some with critical burn injuries. The number of dead and injured was "likely to climb," Huston said.

At least 53 homes were severely damaged and up to 120 homes have some damage from the fast-moving fire, San Bruno Fire Chief Dennis Haag told reporters.

The fire was about 50 percent contained four hours after it began, he said. But the persistent flames had kept crews from searching the area for victims.

Firefighters had not yet been able to access the high-pressure gas line that appeared to be the source of an explosion that proceeded the blaze, he said.

City officials said they were trying to account for residents in the area. Haag said about 100 had evacuated to shelters.

People as far as a half-mile away said they felt the boom and heat of the blast, KGO reported.

"I was standing next to a police officer who'd been in Baghdad and he said he had never seen anything quite so bad as this," John Hampton, a freelance photographer who witnessed the fire, told CNN affiliate KGO. "It looks as if this area was fire-bombed."

San Bruno resident Tim Gutierrez, who lives in a neighborhood near where the blast occurred, told CNN affiliate KRON that people living in the area have smelled natural gas for the past three weeks.

Video: Large explosion in San Bruno

"Every day after work, I would smell the heavy smell coming from the gutter and sewer," he said.

When asked about that account Thursday night, Haag told reporters it was "the first time the fire department's ever had any notice of it."

Pacific Gas and Electric spokesman Jeff Smith said it was too early to tell what caused the blast, and declined to comment on any posibility of gas smells proceeding the blast.

"At this time we don't want to speculate on comments such as that. However, if it's determined that PG&E was responsible, we will take accountability," he said.

California Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado declared a state of emergency in San Mateo County.

Windy weather and water supply problems have complicated efforts to combat the flames.

His oldest son is there now.....their area has no mandatory evac orders....but I TOLD HIM.....even though the fire is somehow across some major thoroughfares that have little vegetation and would have to cross.....embers can travel great distances and set new fires.....I have my backup there now to look after him!!!!